Delta Plane Crash Passenger Hosts AMA on Reddit: "It's Nice To Talk Through Trauma"

On Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, a Delta flight made a dramatic landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The aircraft flipped upside down and caught fire on the snow-covered runway, but all 80 passengers survived, with a few sustaining minor injuries.

Later that night, a woman who survived the frightening crash took to Reddit to host an AMA (Ask Me Anything), offering to answer any questions about the terrifying ordeal.

Here's what she had to say!

The passenger, using the username LandscapeSudden3469 on Reddit, started the thread by writing, "I'm safe, healthy, and only slightly in shock at a hotel near the airport. Happy to share my experience, insight, and... whatever else. It's nice to talk through trauma. Indulge me."

A flight attendant commented, apologizing and asking, "Could you describe what happened that [led] to the accident from your perspective? Once you were on the ground with the plane stopped, how did you and everyone else manage to get out safely?"

In response, the OP replied, "From my perspective, there was no lead-up at all. I felt what seemed like too violent of jerking motions from the wind immediately before landing. We touched down HARD, then bounced back up and started to skid. I'm not sure exactly how we rolled or when, but I was over the wings and could see the orange glow from the fire through the right side windows. We skidded for what seemed like a short time."

"There was a lot of screaming, though I remember thinking it sounded like we were underwater. Everything was dulled," the OP added. "When we stopped, there was a brief moment of silence before everyone started trying to release themselves. Those of us who could get ourselves down did and then helped others."

When asked if the crash was disorienting, the OP disclosed, "I was in the military for quite a while so I'm not sure if any [of] that training swayed my experience. While it was [happening], I very calmly had the thought that I was likely going to die."

The OP remarked, "My only goal was to get everyone safely down and then get the eff off the plane. That sentiment seemed to be felt by everyone on the flight. I saw so many people acting selflessly, comforting one another, and making sure we all made it out. I'm a pessimist, but this did give me a little more hope for humanity."

A third Redditor wondered, "Did you have any moments of thinking, 'Yup, this is it,' or what was your thought process now it's hours later?"

The OP replied, "Shock is a helluva drug. ... At the time of the crash, I did think 'Well, this is it.' It wasn't traumatic or heart-wrenching...more of a feeling of acceptance."

A fourth Redditor inquired, "How did you all get out? From the photos, the fuselage was upside down and presumably, you were all hanging upside down."

The OP explained, "From inside we didn't see any of the fire, thank goodness! We were all upside down to start with, but many of us were able to release themselves pretty quickly. After that, the 'upright' of us helped the upside-down until we were all righted and ready to evacuate. We were able to quickly get out [of] the one emergency exit that was safe, the other one poured jet fuel in when they opened it."

When asked what the cabin crew did, the OP said, "We didn't see the flight crew where I was, but they were doing their jobs near the exits. I could see that they were panicked as we were but they did everything they needed to to get us out!"

Describing the landing, the OP recalled, "I remember thinking RIGHT before landing that we seemed to be getting tossed around by the wind a lot. We touched down, then seemed to go airborne again. Then the world [tilted], and an orange glow ignited on the right side of the aircraft. I remember it was fairly dark apart from that glow. ... When we came to a stop, everyone seemed silent for a moment as we all drew our collective breath and started to triage the situation."

In response to a question about jet fuel, the OP shared, "There was jet fuel everywhere. We couldn't open the second exit point be dude fuel poured in. I have no idea how an errant spark didn't ignite us all. We are so, so fortunate."

When asked if everyone had their seatbelts on, the OP said, "As far as I can tell, yes. I was midway back though so if anyone near the front or the back was unbelted I didn't see. ... If they weren't they'd be pretty rekt."

Addressing follow-up questions, the OP said there was no debrief and she didn't have to sign an NDA. She added, "I think the local responders were as shocked as we were with the incident!"

"We weren't upside down long. Near my row, we all made sure to get each other down before [a] head rush happened," the OP continued. "After it happened, most people were fairly quiet. No one knew what to do or say. I was finally free of the airport around 10 p.m. local time."

When asked about staying in contact with survivors, the OP stated, "I have some new contacts I will forever keep in touch with. There's nothing that binds people together like sudden, unexpected trauma!"

Someone asked the OP how loved ones received the news, and she wrote, "My husband took it the hardest. ... I haven't, and won't tell [my] kids until they're much older. They don't have the facilities as a toddler and a preschooler to understand the magnitude or really make sense of any of it."

Regarding injuries and soreness, the OP joked, "I'm not too sore yet, but like The Weeknd says… 'I FEEL IT COMIN' lol."

The OP was also asked if she's now "afraid to fly again," and she penned, "I joked to my husband that I'm now the safest person to fly with, statistically! I haven't reached a real conclusion though. If you asked me to get on a flight home now I'd tell you to pound sand. Tomorrow might be different."

Finally, regarding luggage and compensation, the OP revealed, "Delta has been very courteous to us so far. Haven't got as far as considering suing... at this point, still thanking my lucky stars!"